


Please be Part of my Happy List

by Zephyr4318Blackberry



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Bisexual Character, F/F, F/M, Fluff, I'm not sorry for being this weird, M/M, Multi, Romance, Weird Fluff, unusual pairing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-25
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:49:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23837857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zephyr4318Blackberry/pseuds/Zephyr4318Blackberry
Summary: Marc has a list of things he likes, and he planned to keep this list short. Someone's about to ruin that plan.
Relationships: Marc Anciel & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Marc Anciel/Nathaniel Kurtzberg
Comments: 6
Kudos: 31





	Please be Part of my Happy List

**Author's Note:**

> If I don't put this into writing I'll be haunted by this idea for weeks, so please bear with me. 
> 
> \- unusual attractions, weird chocolate kink, warmth and fuzz induced fluff and Marinette being the sweet, oblivious goddess that she is  
> \- oh, and there's Marc too

Marc felt like he found the secret to simple happiness: keeping a short list of things he liked the most.

  1. Chocolate, 2. writing his comic book with Nathaniel, 3. And, occasionally, fooling around with his new found friends at the art club – at no particular order, of course, although most days it was number two that got him looking forward to each school day.



It was important for him that this list be kept short – the less he has, the less will be taken away.

Having endured another grueling school day, he thought a well-deserved session in room 33 with his fellow art enthusiast was due. With his head ducked beneath his shoulders and his hood covering his raven hair, he maneuvered through the stream of rushing teenagers, up the familiar stairwell and round about the corner where the closed door of the art room was.

He knocked, careful not to startle anyone who was already immersed with a project, before peering inside. The room was empty, which was odd considering the time of the day.

He went inside and turned the heater up a bit. The weather had been rather cruel lately, and he wondered if a quick trip to a cafe was needed. He breathed through enclosed palms and rubbed his hands together. The heater wasn’t kicking it fast enough. His fellow artists better hurry up and increase the damn temperature already, less he freezes before getting any work done.

He took his usual corner where he and Nath do their regular work. He opened his notebook to today’s scribbles – a dialogue between Ladybug and Chat Noir on how to best a new villain who had proven too elusive even for the both of them. His partner had been insistent on putting this villain in the story, even when Marc warned him that it might be too tough for anything relatable. The character had too many skillsets, making plot progression rather complicated. This of course fell on him – he had to visualize the scene in his head before Nathaniel can draw them.

A slight shiver cause the rapid pencil curves bent in a messy branch, and he frowned. He pulled his jacket tighter and warmed his gloved hands again.

Finally the door opened and Marc looked up from his notebook to see who it was, partly hoping it was Nathaniel so he’ll have a warm body close to him. The cold was eating through his body terribly.

Instead of his redhead partner, he saw dark hair and blue eyes popping through the crack of the door. He immediately recognized the beautiful face that was flushed pink, and he wondered if Marinette was just as sensitive to this type of weather as he was. It wasn’t Nathaniel, but Marc would dare say she was the next best person to walk through that door.

She scrunched her nose as she scanned the entire room, eyes blinking as they fell on Marc. He saw a cup of something hot in her hand, and Marc immediately regretted not taking that quick trip for hot cocoa. The boy gave a shy smile and waved.

The door slammed shut much to Marc’s bewilderment. Marinette was a regular in the art room, almost as much as the rest of them. Maybe she didn’t want to be alone with him. Marc frowned, though he completely understood. He wasn’t the most coherent conversationalist, and she definitely wouldn’t find him interesting. He still liked her a lot despite this thought. After all, she was the one who brought Nathaniel and him together.

He smiled, remembering her level of enthusiasm that day. He could never think ill of Marinette even if he tried, much less think about her without considering what a wonderful person she is. Maybe it was a good thing she didn’t stick around – he’d just bore her, and he wouldn’t like that. Marinette should always be happy – she’s the kind of person who deserves as much.

The thought of Marinette warmed him, much to his surprise, and the slight tremor of his hands had stopped. He couldn’t bring himself to associate such effect with anything beyond the fact that Marinette was both the prettiest, and sweetest girl in school.

Thinking about something sweet, Marc decided he had let his thoughts linger long enough over the girl every other boy in school was probably pining for. He pulled out a chocolate bar wrapped in a single serving and slightly warmed from the thermal confides of his bag. He was about unravel the desired contents for the number one in his happy list, when the door made an unceremonious bang , causing him to jump from his seat. So much for not startling the denizens.

He turned to see who the brash intruder was and was surprised to see Marinette. Her cheeks were a bit redder and she huffing slightly. There were two cups in her hands now, and she had a smile that was definitely warmer than the drinks she had brought.

“Hey Marc!” she greeted, walking towards him with a bit of a hasty skip. She placed one of the cups in front of him and touched the other on her reddened cheek before taking a sip.

So she went back down to get him a drink, huh? The thought immediately caused an odd sort of grin on him and he pulled the hood of his jacket in an attempt to hide it.

“I-it’s really cold, huh?” he said so as to distract her.

“Tell me about it. Someone had the right mind to start a late afternoon campfire in the park. Everyone’s there, huddled up like a bunch of penguins.” Marinette laughed.

The sound of her laughter made his insides inexplicably leap.

“So that’s why this place was empty.” Marc said, dismissing that warmth creeping back in again, but nonetheless appreciating it. He placed both hands on the cup and enjoyed the warmth. “Shouldn’t you be joining them? It’s freezing here.” he asked.

The girl cocked her head at him like it was the silliest question. “Well, YOU’RE here. And I like hanging out with you.”

That was all he could take before a full blush finally overcame his face, and the hood did a rather poor job hiding it. A pair of soft, cold hands invaded the supposedly hidden area of his face and cupped his cheeks in a light squeeze. Marc’s eyes grew as he stared at a grinning Marinette.

“Warm and fluffy,” she snickered. “I hope you don’t mind.”

Does he? Other than the overly touchy relatives he was never at the receiving end of anyone’s affections. If he did mind, his brain surely wasn’t registering the situation fast enough to decide at being upset.

He managed a weak shake of his head, and his eyes slightly fluttered as Marinette beamed at him. The heat on his face only increased, and he heard Marinette sigh contentedly.

A full minute passed, Marinette decided she had heated herself on his cheeks long enough and pulled her hand away. Marc leaned forward from where her hand was moving away, his mouth opening as if to protest the lack of her touch.

“Ah…”

Marinette tilted her head cutely in amused curiousity, “Hm?”

Thankfully, the boy had enough awareness to stop himself before saying something senseless and stupid.

“I… I… I should pay you… for the drink.” He stammered, fumbling over himself and tapping his pants to feel his wallet.

Marinette scooted to his side and placed a hand on his. “It’s my treat.”

“But…”

“In exchange – let me watch you write.” She gave him a wink.

“Huh?”

“I’ve worked with Nath during one of our class projects before. But I never got the chance to see you up close when you’re deep in a work of your own.”

He was still staring at their hands touching casually, when she lifted hers and placed both palms around her drink.

“Thank you – for the drink, and for being with me, but I don’t get why you’d want to watch me.”

Marinette pressed a finger on her bottom lip. “Hm, well, you’re pretty, so watching you is fun.”

He took a hasty sip off his drink so the redness on his cheeks wouldn’t be so suspicious, but the soft chuckle from the girl told him that purpose wasn’t served.

“Also, you’re a very interesting person. Nathaniel thinks so too. Who else could think of all those exciting fight scenes in your comic book?”

He knew himself well enough to know the kind of words that would describe him. Interesting was not one of them. Nor pretty. Adrien, Nathaniel, Alix and Alya – now those were really pretty people. And Marinette, of course, probably on the top of the list of Paris’s most obliviously beautiful teens. Hearing her words, and feeling the fluttery sensation they trigger inside his stomach, were therefore puzzling

“Nath and I brainstorm over those stories so they’re OUR ideas.” He said timidly.

Taking a quick sip from his drink before pulling out his phone, he decided to humor the girl. She seemed happy enough when Marc began setting his station up, intently observing the way his hands jotted down notes from what she could only assume ideas fleshed out of the images posted in the online school board.

A few taps on his devices outside the current browser and Marc had the Ladyblog opened.

“I see… so you use Alya’s blog as reference.” Marinette commented. Marc hummed in confirmation, and clicked the latest entries.

“You see here?” Marc turned his phone and pointed to a certain tab in the blog. Marinette followed where his pen was leading, “I suggested this to Alya – it’s a section in the Ladyblog that profiles each akuma attack based on the power.”

“Wow, it’s quite organized.” Marinette swiped through the different tabs. “Hey look! There’s your name.” 

The portion read ‘The blogger would like to thank Mr. Marc Anciel for providing the concept for this section’. This would be the first Marc was seeing the acknowledgement, and definitely the first time someone publicly recognized his idea.

“See? You’re famous!” Marinette said excitedly, moving closer to him.

The writer could hardly share her enthusiasm. He got distracted by Marinette’s proximity, the lingering sweetness of her breath, and sheer comfort afforded by her closeness. Marc was switching gazes between his phone and the girl beside him. When it didn’t seem like Marinette had any intention of giving him some space as she remained absorbed on one of the blog’s videos, Marc decided to take a deep breath before continuing his work. He DID offer his phone for her to look into.

And he would be lying if he said having her so close wasn’t pleasant at all. If the senseless smirk on his face was any hint, he’d say it was quite the opposite.

After a while, thinking Marinette was still glued to his phone, and fearing if he was already boring her, Marc rolled his eyes to the side to secretly take a peak. He was startled to see Marinette, head propped on one hand and her drink on the other, watching him with keen interest.

“I’m not distracting you, am I?” she asked with an obvious teasing note.

Marc shrunk from where he sat and pulled the collar of his jacket to cover the lower portion of his face. He eyed Marinette, said girl giggling at him.

“A litte.” He mumbled.

“Sorry – you’re just like Nath, making really cute faces when you’re focused.” She said, giggling again before drinking the rest of her cocoa.

“Say,” Marc timidly began, “Do you… do you think Ladybug reads our comics?”

Blue eyes blinked at him, processing the question, before growing in size and wonder. She leaned towards him with renewed excitement, “Of course she does!”

Without bothering to mind the level of energy, Marc thought it was strange that Marinette would have such a strong assurance.

“How would you know?”

The question got Marinette to pause and sit pack. She gave a sheepish laugh and looked at anywhere but him. “Ah, well, you see, I think I saw her once, buying an issue from a nearby bookstore.”

“Really?!”

It was Marc turn to sound ecstatic, that simplistic rationale flying way passed his head because of the joy it brought him. Marinette smiled at him.

“As a matter of fact, I think she’s getting pretty good tips from both the Ladyblog AND your comic book.” She said, again with an air of confidence.

“You think so?”

Marinette tapped through his phone and opened a specific video link in the Ladyblog from an akuma attack two weeks ago. Alya managed to capture the combined finishing move where Chat propelled Ladybug using a hard-hitting strike of his baton on her sole. It was risky, but the twirling yoyo gave Ladybug a protective canopy, deflecting every single projectile the flying akuma was throwing at her. The fight quickly ended as soon as the she and the villain were at level, and all she had to do was grab the possessed item.

The scene was oddly familiar. After a couple of video replays, it finally clicked. He opened his notebook and turned to earlier pages, the ones he wrote a few months back. He read through script drafts and confirmed his suspicions – it was exactly the same move he wrote.

When he turned to look at Marinette, he saw clear hints of pride on her smug face.

“But it might just be a coincidence.” Marc deflated, his face falling, “I mean, Ladybug and Chat Noir are both amazing, I’m sure they would’ve come up with the same move on their own.”

Marinette’s gaze on him softened.

“You’re probably right.” She said, causing his heart to sink further. “I’ll go ask them then.”

“You what? Don’t!” his green eyes widened at the suggestion.

“Why not?”

“Because… they’re probably too busy. And I don’t want to bother you.”

“It won’t be a bother. Besides, Ladybug and I are close.”

Marc raised an eyebrow at her, his suspicions rousing again at the odd certainty from her. “You are?”

It wasn’t like Marc was throwing accusations, but Marinette practically raised her hands in defense, nearly knocking her drink over the table. “Yeah, I mean, not THAT close, but you know, she’s saved me more times than I could remember, so…”

“I get it. Ladybug’s amazing, isn’t she? And she’s so nice to everyone that people naturally feel close to her.” Marc said, smiling at her, “Say, Marinette, is it okay if I tell you a little secret?”

“Sure.” Marinette’s face brightened at the offer. She scooted closer to him.

Marc fiddled with his pen and looked down at his drink, a streak of red forming across his face.

“I think I have a crush on Ladybug.” He whispered.

It took a few seconds before Marinette registered what Marc had just said.

“Oh… I thought you’re into Nath.”

“I am.” He said, “I like Nathaniel a lot, and I wish we could be more than just friends. But that feeling of happiness, the way my chest tightens whenever he’s close, and how I couldn’t stop my face from making a stupid smile when he looks at me, it gets like that whenever I think about Ladybug.”

Marinette’s face turned unreadable, and he became concerned that it might not be a topic she was comfortable with. No one else had openly supported his feelings for his comic book partner as much as she did, and Marc had always been grateful to have Marinette on his side of things, but perhaps she wasn’t into this sort of openness when it comes to romantic attractions.

“Sorry,” he said looking down again, “It’s probably weird, crushing on two people.”

“No, no, it’s not!” Marinette stammered, “I just… well, I mean, wow, you really like her?”

He nodded. Turning his head up to see if Marinette was being too weirded out but was being too nice to actually tell him so, he instead saw the girl, a blush on her cheeks, tucking bluish strands of her hair behind her ear.

Marc’s chest tightened at the sight. Odd, he thought.

“Which is why you shouldn’t tell her anything about me.”

“Why not?”

“Because… just, don’t, okay? Please?”

Marinette pouted and mumbled something akin to ‘mkay’. Marc was glad she didn’t press it any further, but if he was being truly honest, he was actually very conflicted. Does he want to know if Ladybug was reading their comic book? Of course. Would it be cool if he could actually be friends with her, share a few laughs, hang out from time to time? Hell yeah!

But then he imagined the sort of happiness it will bring him, and there lied the problem. He was happy enough being a Ladybug and Chat Noir fan, happy with the simple things in his list. Being associated with the heroes of Paris would be way beyond this short list, far more than he would probably deserve.

Someone like him probably didn’t deserve being friends with Ladybug. He’s… weird, in a lot of ways. Case in point – having feelings for a boy, AND a superhero-girl, both of whom are out of his league.

Marinette had been quiet. He had busied himself with his writing, and thought perhaps she considered him ungrateful after she offered to do something for him. If she did, the smile she sent his way when she caught him stealing another glance at her certainly didn’t prove so.

He didn’t deserve that smile either, he thought.

“Would you like some chocolate?” he offered.

He received a bright smile from her much to his relief.

“Chocolate sounds good.”

There was only one bar in his bag, and he wholeheartedly handed it to her after stretching the edges open. One of the few things in his list – definitely worth giving to the sweetest girl in school.

“I’m sorry Marinette,” he said with his head low, “I know you mean well. You’re always just the nicest girl that helps everyone. It’s no surprise Adrien called you ‘our everyday Ladybug’.”

Marc saw the blush on her face now take a steady hue as she shied away from him, smiling. “To be honest, it’s not something I’m always proud of. Most of the time it feels like I’m not living up to it. But I like the title, not for itself, but because the person I love gave it to me, and because it reminds me that helping out people, even from the shadows of anonymity, is always worth it.”

Marinette snapped the bar in two, pulled out her share, and handed back to him the wrapper with the other half.

“If you like something, grab it. I’m sure you’ll live up to it eventually.” She said as Marc took the chocolate from her, “Nathaniel said you’re into sweets.”

The boy took the other half and pondered on her words. He had always been satisfied with his life – one where the short list of contentment was always within reach. He knew so long as he kept his feelings for Nathaniel bottled up that the redhead will remain his friend. And while they work on their endless plots of superhero adventures over their comic book, he’d be doing so with the company of his friends in the art room – with an indefinite supply of chocolate of course. Indeed, he should be happy with what he has.

The words Marinette spoke, though, had him thinking – maybe there could be more. Maybe that list has some expanding to do, and maybe it was time for him to act on this expansion. With a little evil twist of romantic attraction towards the boy he liked, the heroine he admired, and maybe... – he watched Marinette take tiny nibbles on the sturdy confection, licking her glossy lips clean of the brown tint. She seemed to be enjoying it, not minding the mess on her fingers, which she gingerly licked clean

Marc gulped as he continued to watch her, a wave of worry threatening to grip his heart. He had always known he was different from the other boys, most of whom seemed proverbially inclined towards the opposite sex. He, on the other hand, didn’t have such an exclusive attraction. He’s had a couple of crushes - girls, boys, and apparently, masked ladies in skintight suits. Marinette was a girl (genius discovery), and it was probably stupid of him not to assume he’d develop feelings for her at some point.

Coming to the part where he watched her slid her finger between her lips to clean away any stain, Marc felt that same tightness overcome his chest again. This time, he didn’t bother thinking about it. He couldn’t – this beautiful girl in front of him, someone who had been with him for so long and have been nothing but wonderful towards him, had his brain pausing to a certain urge.

His eyes trailed down from her happy eyes, down to her rosy cheeks, and that little stain of chocolate at the corner of her lips.

_Chocolate… my favorite…_

Without thinking, without planning, and without even realizing that he was acting on such urge, he leaned towards her and gently cleaned the stain away as he nibbled on the side of her lips in what could only be deemed as a soft kiss.

A sense of blissful satisfaction that had him feeling like he was in the clouds enveloped him as he leaned back and gazed at the stunned, wide-eyed girl. It took him a while before finally coming into terms with his action over the past minute, and when he did, matching the same surprise expression on Marinette’s face, his own eyes grew at the audacity. His first course of action was to immediately back away and hide his shameful self with his hoodie.

“I’m so sorry! I’m so sorry!” Marc ranted repeatedly, the blush on his face easily dispelling whatever coldness there was.

“Whoah,” Marinette breathed, smiling and putting a hand on her cheek, “That was…”

_Please don’t say gross! Please don’t say gross! Please don’t say gross!_

“…surprising…”

Okay, that definitely wasn’t the worse adjective.

“…bold…” she continued. The naturally redness of her check darkened as she started to share the same blush with Marc.

“…and pleasant?” she further stated, this time with a questioning tone.

Her last description pulled Marc out of the burrowed confides of his hood. He dared a peek at Marinette who herself was looking at him shyly from a side glance, a flustered smile on her face.

“It is?” he asked, feeling that darn, stupid smirk forming on his lips again.

Marinette straightened up from her seat and leaned towards Marc, head turning upwards in a thoughtful pose and a finger pressed on her bottom lip like she did earlier. “Maybe…”

Marc pouted, and this earned him the wonderful sound of her laughter. With that, the boy finally concluded he was screwed. How in the world did he manage to develop a crush over a third person? He’d be rattling his brain over this for weeks, if not months.

Well, at least he also managed to begin expanding his list. Another item added – eating chocolate with (and off) one Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not trying to sail a whole new ship here, and I'm all in for Marc and Nathaniel fandom, but I feel adding Marinette in the ensuing chaos will make it downright adorable. 
> 
> Anyway, I'm open to comments, and thank you very much for reading, and tolerating this ratther odd OOCness


End file.
